![Wink ;)](./images/smilies/icon_wink.gif)
Now that I have your attention, please take a moment to read this.
Ok folks, the season is here and it's time to tighten up these tropical threads. This is a message board, not a chatroom. We do have a chatroom available 24/7 for anyone interested in conversational weather chat.
The Talkin' Tropics forum is a place for sharing, discussing, and learning. Unfortunately, well thought out, informative posts can be completely buried in mere minutes beneath a mountain of posts with really no useful substance at all. Questions and comments are welcomed...that's what we're here for. This isn't a professionals only board, but in the interest of time and space, it is not necessary to post every single thought that pops in your head. That's chatroom style. Storm2k has become an important weather information source for many people. If you're at work, and you only have a few minutes to grab the latest tropical information, how frustrating it must be to plow through page after page of "I agree" "time to lock this thread" "that sounds possible" and "I already said that in another thread," etc.
"I agree" - Unless you have a weighty meteorological reputation, whether or not you agree is irrelevant to most people reading the post. What if everyone replied just to say "I agree" or "I disagree" - it would need its own forum.
"Time to lock this thread" - Please continue posting on topic until the thread is locked. How silly and wasteful to post a countdown until it's locked. It wastes valuable time and space.
"That sounds possible" - Almost anything is possible. Possibilites are limitless and universally accepted as such so it's not necessary to reply just to point this out.
"I already said/saw that in another thread" - Believe it or not, some people do not read every single post on every single page in every single thread. That comment is really just rude. This isn't a game of one-upmanship. Nobody is trying to steal your thunder. Maybe they didn't read your post and they made a similar comment. It's probably not intentional and you don't need to waste a post pointing it out.
Here's another tip: it's not always necessary to quote someone's entire post or graphic just to comment on it. Obviously, sometimes it is, but use good judgment. Most of the time it's just a space muncher.
I think you get the idea. I hope that helps anyway. Obviously, I can't address every possible scenario, but please take a moment or two before you submit your post and ask yourself if it's relevant. Remember: quality over quantity. Storm2k is a fun place to be and we want to keep it that way. When the weather turns more serious though, naturally the forum will too. But for the most part, Storm2k is a fun, informative community for weather enthusiasts. Now that the tropics are heating up, I think it's important to keep the Talkin' Tropics forum just that....talkin' tropics.
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_smile.gif)